Seven Afghan police killed ahead of handover: official

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Seven Afghan policemen were killed when gunmen attacked a police checkpoint Monday in the southern city of Lashkar Gah, a government spokesman said, where NATO-led troops are due to hand over security control to Afghan forces in two days.

Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the governor of southern Helmand province, confirmed the attack and said seven police were killed.

Lashkar Gah is the capital of volatile Helmand and is the most contentious of the first seven areas to be handed over by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. The official handover in Lashkar Gah is due to take place be on Wednesday.